The 100 greatest silent film comedians / James Roots.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roots, James, 1955- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Silent films--United States--History and criticism.

Silent films.

United States.

Comedy films--United States--History and criticism.

Comedy films.

Motion picture actors and actresses--Biography.

Motion picture actors and actresses.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxix, 433 pages ; 26 cm

Other Title:

One hundred greatest silent film comedians

Place of Publication:

Lanham ; Boulder ; New York ; London : Rowman & Littlefield, [2014]

Summary:

The silent film era featured some of the most revered names of on-screen comic performance, from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, and Laurel & Hardy. Besides these giants of cinema, however, there are other silent era performers-both leading actors and supporting players-who left an enduring legacy of laughter. In The 100 Greatest Silent Film Comedians, James Roots ranks the greatest performers based on a scorecard that measures each comic's humor, timelessness, originality, and teamwork. Far more than just a listing, this is an idiosyncratic and entertaining review of the men and women who created the golden age of comedy. As a critic and deaf viewer, Roots brings a truly unique perspective to the evaluation of these performers and their work. He has viewed thousands of silent comedies and offers some assessments that run contrary to the standard list of performers. While many obvious names are placed in the top echelon, the author also champions performers who have been neglected, in part because their work has not been as visible. Each entry includes a filmography, a scorecard, an evaluation of the artist's overall work, an assessment of representative films, DVD availability With the increased availability of films on DVD, as well as Internet access, more and more silent performers are being discovered by film fans. Supplemented by an appendix of comedians who missed the cut, as well as an annotated bibliography, The 100 Greatest Silent Film Comedians will be an invaluable resource to anyone wanting to know more about the brilliant entertainers of the silent era. Book jacket.

Contents:

The First Rank

1/2 Charlie Chaplin Buster Keaton 3

3 Stan Laurel And Oliver Hardy 26

4 Charley Chase 35

5 Harold Lloyd 41

6 Harry Langdon 57

7 Mabel Normand 66

8 Roscoe Arbuckle 75

9 Douglas Fairbanks 81

10 Raymond Griffith 89

The Second Rank

11 Sidney Drew 97

12 Phyllis Haver 101

13 Our Gang/Little Rascals 105

14 Jobyna Ralston 108

15 Anita Garvin 108

16 Bebe Daniels 108

17 Ton of Fun 114

18 Max Under 118

19 Ford Sterling 123

20 Max Davidson 128

21 Lupino Lane 132

22 Larry Semon 136

23 Edgar Kennedy 146

24 Mack Swain 149

25 Fay Tincher 153

26 Supporting Ladies and Cents 157

27 Gale Henry 159

28 Mae Busch 163

29 Ben Turpin 164

30 Charley Bowers 172

31 Lloyd Hamilton 175

32 Louise Fazenda 184

33 John Bunny 188

34 Harry Gribbon 192

35 Vernon Dent 195

36 Hank Mann 198

37 Alice Howell 201

38 Polly Moran 205

39 Jack Duffy 208

40 Charlie Murray 211

41 Jimmy Finlayson 214

The Third Rank

42 Harry McCoy 219

43 Alice Ardell 222

44 Wallace Beery 224

45 Monty Banks 228

46 Chester Conklin 232

47 Bobby Vernon 236

48 Paul Parrott 240

49 Snub Pollard 245

50 Marie Prevost 253

51 Sydney Chaplin 258

52 Al St. John 263

53 Dorothy Dwan 267

54 Victor Moore 270

55 Joe Rock 272

56 Madeline Hurlock 275

57 Billy Bevan 278

58 Dorothy Devore 283

59 Minta Durfee 286

60 Alice Day 288

61 Slim Summerville 291

62 Andy Clyde 294

63 Glenn Tryon 297

The Fourth Rank

64 Fred Mace 303

65 Billy Dooley 306

66 Billy Quirk 309

67 Johnny Hines 311

68 Victor Potel 313

69 Monty Collins 318

70 Augustus Carney 321

71 Bid Jamison 324

72 Phil Dunham 327

73 Clyde Cook 329

74 Bud Duncan 332

75 Mack Sennett 335

76 Lee Moran And Eddie Lyons 338

77 Lige Conley 342

78 Tom Kennedy 345

79 Jimmy Aubrey 348

80 Neal Burns 350

81 Billy Franey 353

82 Glen Cavender 356

83 Douglas MacLean 358

84 Max Asher 361

85 Bobby Ray 364

86 Billy Engle 367

87 Sid Smith 370

88 Billy Bletcher 373

89 Walter Hiers 376

90 Paddy McGuire 379

91 Jack Cooper 381

92 Billy West 384

93 Eddie Boland 389

94 Flora Finch 391

95 Milburn Morante 394

96 Billie Ritchie 397

97 Earl Mohan 399

98 Billy Reeves 401

99 Hichie Mack 404

100 Cliff Bowes 407.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781442236493

1442236493

OCLC:

880566082